Method of preparing meat products



6 1959 y s. w. covEY Hamon or PREPARING MEAT PRODUCTS Filed Feb. 25, 195'7 ww. NJ

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United States Patent METHOD F PREPARING MEAT PRODUCTS Gordon W. Covey, Downers Grove, lll., assignor to The W. J. Fitzpatrick Company, Chicago, Ill., a corporation of Illinois Application February 25, 1957, Serial No. 642,091

' `4 Claims. (Cl. 99--187) This invention relates to a method of preparing meat products and more particularly to the preparation of canned meat loaves, and the like. It has been standard practice for many years in the meat industry in preparing canned cured pork loaves and similar meat products to hold the raw chunks of meat, such as pork shoulder and ham trimmings in a cold room in carts until the product has been reduced to a temperature of about 28 F. Thereafter, the meat is run through a plate mill having about a three-fourths inch orifice, is mixed with a curing agent in a mixer and is held in cold storage at a temperature of about 28 F. for about ve days to complete the cure. After completion of the cure, the meat is passed through a cutter or grinder to reduce it to the desired particle size, is subjected to vacuum to remove excess air and is canned. The meat is not cooked until after canning to reduce the shrinkage, but it has been found that with the standard process there is still la. shrinkage on the order of about 3% and there is a certain amount of fatting-out resulting in a layer of fat around the meat.

This process requires a substantial period of time from production of the original chunks or trimmings to the finished canned product With several handlings of the material and the use of several different pieces of apparatus. Also during the cutting or grinding steps, the temperature of the meat increases substantially which may adversely affect the coloring and flavoring of the meat.

It is one of the objects of the present invention to provide a method of preparing meat products in which the meat is continuously processed from the original chunks or trimmings to the nished canned product in a single piece of apparatus with a single handling.

Another object is to provide a method in which the meat is mixed with a curing agent and the mixture is immediately reduced to the desired finished size to effect intimate mixing of the curing agent with the meat and an extremely rapid cure. i

According to one feature, the meat is comminuted or reduced by passing knives therethrough at a high speed on the order of 120 feet per second while the meat is confined in a closed chamber having a screened outlet to regulate the particle size.

Another object is to provide a method in which the meat is cooled during comminuting by mixing a volatile cooling agent therewith.

According to a feature of the invention, the volatile cooling Iagent and excess air are removed from the comminuted material by subjecting it to a vacuum before canning. t

The above and other objectsl and features of the invention will be more readily apparent from the follow ing description when read in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure l is a diagrammatic view with parts in section of an apparatus for carrying out the method of the present invention; and

Figure 2 is a view similar to Figure 1 illustrating an alternative method.

The apparatus, as illustrated in Figure l, comprises a plate mill 10 in which meat chunks or trimmings as received from the trimming oor may be fed and which is provided with a screen of about three-fourths inch openings to reduce the material to chunks not exceeding about three-fourths inch in diameter. This step is employed primarily to facilitate handling of the product and could be omitted if the chunks or trimmings were received iny sizes capable of easy handling.

From the plate mill the meat material is fed through a conduit or conveyor 11 to a mixer 12 which is supplied with curing material, preferably inliquid form, through a conduit 13. The curing material may be a curing solution of the type commonly employed in the industry containing salt, sugar and other desired flavoring and curing agent in a liquid solution or suspension. In the mixer, the meat chunks or particles are thoroughly mixed with the curing agent and the mixture is then fed through a conduit or conveyor 14 into a comminuting machine.

The comminuting machine, as shown, may be constructed as more particularly disclosed and claimed in the co-pending application of Albert Kircher, Jr. and

Dewey A. Manion, Ir., Serial No. 599,374, filed July 23, 1956. As shown the comminutor comprises a hollow frame 15 open at its top to receive a cover 16 which may be hollow on its outside, as indicated at 17, for circulation of a cooling liquid therethrough. The cover is supported on and closes'the upper part of the frame 15 and its inner top surface is of generally cylindrical configuration. The cover is closed at its lower part by a perforated cylindrical screen 18 which may be detachably supported in arcuate tracks 19 on the sides of the frame portion 15 so that the cover and the Screen together deiine a generally cylindrical comminuting chamber into which the conduit or conveyor 14 extends substantially tangentially at the upper part.

lMaterial in the comminutor is cut by means of a r0- tor including a hub 21 coaxial with the chamber and driven by suitable motor means, not shown, at relatively high speed. The hub carries a series of relatively short flat `radially projecting blades 22 spaced axially and circumferentially thereof and terminating at their tips near the inner wall of the cover and screen. The blades are relatively short, as shown, so that the velocity variation from the roots to the tips thereof will be minimized and i the rotor is turned at such a speed that the inner portions of the blades will be moving at a speed on the order of at least feet per second.

With this construction, as the meat chunks mixed with curing agent are fed into the communitor, the blades 22 Will strike the chunks and cut them into smaller particles of a size to pass through the screen 18. The size of the screen may be changed depending upon the final product to be made, but will in general be designed to pass particles on the order of three-sixteenths inch to one-fourth inch. Due to the high speed of the knives, the meat particles will be cut while they are suspended in the communitor chamber and will be thoroughly admixed with the curing Vagent so that the discharged small particles will be thoroughly impregnated with curing agent and will cure substantially instantaneously. The high speed of the knives further homogenizcs the fat content of the meat and substantially eliminates subsequent fatting out mum 'p'ermissible-'temperature of about 30 F and a minimum-permissible temperature of about 25 F. belowl which the meat becomes too'cold to be forced into the cans by the stutter. In order to maintain the meat cooled during comminuting; Ya volatile'cooling agent is injected into the comminuting chamber throughaV conduit'2`3 which preferably-supplies the volatile cooling ,agentV at' a point closely adjacent to vtheinlet of vthe`comminuting' chamber. While substantially` any volatile cooling agent whichl is Vnon-'toxic can be used such, for example, as NO2,

the: preferred -cooling agent is CO2 which is injected in' liquid form. The CO2 as it volatilizes not only cools theV meat but enclosesl itin an inert atmosphere to'minim'iz'e discoloration.

the temperature of theA comminuted product, leavingthe comminutingtchamber at about 28F. v

They comminuted material passingthrough the screen 18is Acollected in the bottom part'of theframe-IS` and is Vremovedtherefrom by any suitable conveyor illustrated The screw 'extends through a conduit 2Sw as a'screw24. in'lwhich it may fit relatively tightly and which has a perforated section 26. The perforated section 26'is enclosed by a cover 27 connected through a conduit Z8 to asource` of vacuum to produce a partial vacuum in the conduit 25 -so that the volatile cooling agent and excess air in the comminuted meat Iproductwill be Adrawn off. When CO2 is used as thecooling agent, .it can be recovered and reused for various purposes wherein theadmixture of a small quantity of Vair is permissible.

After passing the vacuum section the material 'may be fed into a conventional can stufer 29 wherein it is stuffed into cans and the cans, as shown at 31, may be fed toa retort 32 wherein the material is cooked.A

It will be seen that according to the present invention, the raw'material suchy as trimmings is passed continuously through the apparatus and emerges in linal canned and cooked form with no intermediate handling and 'nog delays. It'is no-t necessary, according to the present process, to precoollthe material which can be supplied through the mixer to the comminuting chamber at substantially any existing temperature since the cooling effected in the comminuting chamber will be suiiicient to bring the material quickly down to the desired 28 F. due to the intimate mixing of the cooling material with the meat in the comminuting chamber. Further it hasvbeen found that no delay is necessary for completion of the cure because the intimate mixing of the curing agent with the meat -in the comminuting chamber results in` a substantially instantaneous cure. It has also been found that when meat is processed according to the present kinvention shrinkage is almost completely eliminated thus saving not only theA 4approximately 3% shrinkage which occurred in the can trimmings or chunks are tobe used there may be two or more hoppers, as shown at 33 and 34 to supply the different types of meat in the desired ratio to the conveyor. For example, the hopper 33 may supply shoulder trimmings and the hopper 34 may supply ham trimmings which will be mixed in the desired proportion in the conveyor. Beyond the last hopper in the direction of travel of the conveyor a curing agent is supplied tothe con-- veyor through .a conduit 113 -which Yis connectedthereto f The quantity of cooling agent injected.l can be controlledpreferably automatically,'to maintainY ahead of the discharge into the comminuting chamber. Due to the action'of the `conveyorthe curing 'agent will be substantially uniformly mixed with the meat trimmings or chunks by the time it reaches the comminuting chamber and further intimate admixture of the curing agent with the meat will occur in the comminuting chamber. The remainder of the process is identical With that as described in connection with Figure l and results in the same advantages.

While two embodiments" of the invention have beeifr shown and described herein, it will be understood that they are illustrative only and not to be taken-as adeinition of thescope of the invention, reference being. hadfor this purpose to the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. The method of preparing meat products which comprises continuously mixing chunks of raw meat withk a curing agent, continuously comminuting the mixture l.of meat chunks and curing agent to reducethe size of'the chunks and mix the curing agent intimately therewith;- continuously mixing a non-toxic volatile liquid cooling] material with themixture during comminutingltocolf themixture to atemperature between'25 F. and 30 P. and maintain it at such temperature during comminutiligg4 and aftercomminuting continuously removing ex'ce'sslair"V and volatilized'cooling material from the comininuted mixture.

2. The method of preparing meat products which coinprises continuously mixing chunks of raw meat withfa"k curing agent, continuously comminuting the mixture off meat chunks and curinga'gent to reduce the'size' ofthe' chunks and mixthe curing agentintimately therewithQ-,z continuously adding liquid CO2 to the mixture during; comminuting in suflicient quantity to reduce'the temperature thereof to about 28 F., and continuously subject` ing the comminuted mixture to a partial vacuum to remove excess air and CO2.

3. The'method of preparing meat products which comprises continuously mixing chunks of raw meat with-1acuring agent, continuously passing the mixture continuously through a confined space, limiting the maximum size of particles leaving the conned space, continuously, cutting the material in the confined space at a lineal cut- 'ting speed of at least 120 feet per second, continuously material in the chamber at a lineal cutting speed'of"at" least feet per second, continuously injecting liquid CO2- into the chamber in sufficient quantity to `maintai'n the temperature of the material therein at aboutV 28 F.,

continuouslydischarging the material from the chamber;

continuously subjecting the discharged material to apartial vacuum to `remove excess air and CO2 therefrom,y canning thematerial, and cooking the cannedmaterial'.

References Cited in theV file of this patentV UNITED STATESV PATENTS 2,230,062'l Jordan Jan. 28, 19,41` 2,535,405 Fulton f Dec. 26, 1950 2,618,939 Morrison Nov. 25, ,1952 2,681,279 Sloan et al. June 151954 

1. THE METHOD OF PREPARING MEAT PRODUCTS WHICH COMPRISES CONTINUOUSLY MIXING CHUNKS OF RAW MEAT WITH A CURING AGENT, CONTINUOUSLY COMMINUTING THE MIXTURE OF MEAT CHUNKS AND CURING AGENT TO REDUCE THE SIZE OF THE CHUNKS AND MIX THE CURING AGENT INTIMATELY THEREWITH, CONTINUOUSLY MIXING A NON-TOXIC VOLATILE LIQUID COOLING MATERIAL WITH THE MIXTURE DURING COMMINUTING TO COOL THE MIXTURE TO A TEMPERATURE BETWEEN 25*F. AND 30*F. AND MAINTAIN IT AT SUCH TEMPERATURE DURING COMMINUTING, AND AFTR COMMINUTING CONTINUOUSLY REMOVING EXCESS AIR AND VOLATILIZED COOLING MATERIAL FROM THE COMMINUTED MIXTURE. 